In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, the BlackRock
CEO said that he doesn't think the economy has been
seriously hurt by the tighter regulations on financial
institutions since the financial crisis, contrary to
what Dimon argued after JPMorgan's earnings were released on
Thursday.

"I don't believe that we had a reduction in economic
activity because of regulation," said Fink. "I think the leaders
of banks, of financial institutions, would do anything to drive
growth. And I believe when there is demand for a loan, when there
is demand for a mortgage, in most cases they drove that
demand."

Fink also said he wasn't "a believer that
regulation really inhibited loan growth."

This runs counter to concerns raised by Dimon, the JPMorgan CEO,
in an
earnings call with media. Dimon cited an analysis by
JPMorgan's fixed income team that showed up to $500 billion in
mortgages had not been made since the financial crisis due to new
regulations.

"If that number is right, shame on us," Dimon said on the
call.

This also goes along with a section from
Dimon's annual letter to shareholders that attacked
the stronger regulatory regime and said it was hurting
"lower income buyers, first-time homebuyers, the
self-employed and individuals with prior defaults who deserve
another chance."

In essence, Dimon is arguing that by not allowing these
groups to build wealth through homeownership, the economic
dynamism of the US is dampened. The real estate industry employs
a large number of Americans through the construction and sales of
homes, and these people in turn go out and spend more in the
economy. With fewer homes being sold and built, Dimon's thinking
implies, the US economy misses out on these second-order
benefits.

Fink said the new, stricter methodology used to calculate
credit scores may have eliminated some more risky, junk
loans, but said these changes aren't necessarily a bad
thing.

"But let's be clear, FICO scores did change. So that homeowner
who maybe was able to get a mortgage in 2007 — that was just an
inappropriate loan in many cases. And no, we don't want to go
back to that," Fink said.

Fink suggested that most of the worry from bank CEOs like Dimon
is because regulation has driven up costs for their banks.
This, in turn, hurts profitability and makes executives — who, it
is probably fair to say, like to maximize profits — chafe
against the regulations.

"What I'm trying to suggest is, I believe there would be a lot of
savings because many of these institutions have hired huge
amounts of lawyers and all that," Fink said. "And if there's a
better atmosphere, a better relationship with regulators,
that indeed will save money, and maybe some of that money can go
back into capital."